I have an old B&J and it came with a 30" octagon rail. I have to place the front standard up close to the front of the rail so not to have it appear in the image area and consequently the back or rear of the rail sticks way out and is very much an incumberance! I have a 12" lens so the only time I really need that much rail is when I do 1:1. I have been tempted a few times to lop it off but haven't. Are these hard to find maybe I could have an extra or something. Has anyone faced this dilema before? Thank you in advance. Mike Pry

-- Michael Pry (vila@techheadnet.com), April 27, 2001

Answers

Michael, I really doubt that B&J have a proprietary octagonal rail extruded for them. There are many companies that deal in rolled steel or extruded sections that will have catalogues for you to match what was used on your camera. Although I haven't used an octagon rod before, We use hex rods of different sizes all the time.

-- Dave Anton (daveanton@home.com), April 28, 2001.

I have an 8X10 Grover and I made a couple wood octagon rails out of maple. One is only 6 inches in length and allows me to package the camera in a small case for travel. When I get to the site I change rails.

-- Ron Lawrence (ronnieig30@msn.com), April 30, 2001.